Chase Distillery Appoints Pelican Brands as Exclusive US Brand Manager for its Range of Artisan English Spirits and Liqueurs

    CARMEL, IN, July 13, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Based in the heart of the Herefordshire countryside, Chase Distillery is an English artisan spirits company, founded by UK Entrepreneur William Chase in 2007 and a distiller of the "World's Best Vodka", as voted by the San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2010 - and indeed the only English potato vodka in the world.

Pelican Brands is the fastest growing full service brand platform in the global beverage industry, based in Carmel, IN, USA. This deal represents a further significant step in the development of Pelican's portfolio.

"After two years of successful growth we are now being sold in some of the most prestigious of venues in the UK such as The Ivy, The Ritz and Harrods. We also secured the accolade of the "World's Best Vodka" at the prestigious and globally renowned San Francisco World Spirits Competition, and we do now feel the time is right to enter the US market," said Will Chase, Founder and CEO Chase Distillery. "Success in the US is the benchmark for all spirit brands and businesses like ours and as such it is a fiercely competitive market. It is critical that we enter the US with the right partner and we have been extremely impressed by Pelican Brands' people, processes and ambitions."

J. Smoke Wallin, Chairman & CEO of Pelican Brands, said, "We are building a very exciting and powerful portfolio of spirit brands and the opportunity to partner with the 'World's Best' vodka was too good to miss. More important than the awards is the deep integrity and care with which Chase brands are made. I am delighted to be working with Will and his team and looking forward to future successes."

Pelican Brands will launch Chase Distillery's flagship brand Chase Vodka and Chase Elderflower Liqueur - which gains its genuine quality from the fact it is made with Chase Vodka - in key markets in the US in September with full national rollouts planned soon thereafter. Other exciting brands from the Chase portfolio will be launched in due course.

"Pelican sets much store on the integrity of its brands and brand partners, and so we are delighted to be working with Chase Distillery," said Don C. Hammond, President of Pelican Brands. "We all know just how tough the vodka market is but there is always room for a brand made with genuine care and attention. Chase Vodka needs no hype - just taste it and you will know why it's been voted the World's Best. I am also excited to be bringing Chase's premium liqueurs to the market: I know that our partners nationwide, be they distributors or retailers, will be just as enthused as we are when they discover what happens when you make liqueurs using only the finest ingredients and the World's Best vodka as your base. No one else is doing this. In fact the response to our initial presentations in key markets has been overwhelmingly positive, the like of which I have rarely if ever seen."

Mr. Hammond, who began his career with P&G and Gallo and ran McCormick's Spirit Division, continued: "I look forward to presenting Chase brands to our distribution partners very soon."

Media contact:

Caroline Clarke, T: +44 (0)121 262 4062, e:[email protected], www.chasedistillery.co.uk

About Chase Distillery
Chase Distillery is located on owner William Chase's farm in the heart of Herefordshire countryside, approximately 150 kilometres North West of London. The distillery is housed in a converted hop kiln barn amongst 400 acres of rolling fields of potatoes, apple orchards and Herefordshire cattle.

The genuine quality of Chase Distillery's products comes from the home grown ingredients and artisan methods used to make them.

William Chase's journey into making vodka began in 2004 when he discovered potato vodka and how different it is from the usual grain variety and he was convinced he could do better because he could grow, mash and distil his own potatoes on his farm to create a genuine quality product with true pedigree and provenance. After selling his multinational crisp business, Tyrrells, he sourced the very best handcrafted equipment consisting of a large copper pot still and a one of a kind 70 foot rectification column (the tallest one in Europe) and built his own distillery by converting an old hop kiln barn on his farm.

The distillation process Chase uses is very traditional in its approach and one which early 1900s vodka distillers would be familiar with. The process is rather laborious but allows for total control of the quality of the products. All products are bottled and labelled by hand at the distillery.

The first bottle of Chase English Potato Vodka was launched on April Fools' Day 2008 and took two years in the making. It was the first and still remains the only English potato vodka in the world. It's made from potatoes grown on William's farm in Herefordshire - varieties Lady Claire and Lady Rosetta. It takes 16 tonnes of potatoes to make 1000 litres of pure spirit (96%ABV). The distillery can even tell you which potato field your bottle of vodka comes from. They also encourage a sense of eco-spirit by using the waste potatoes and peelings to help feed their Herefordshire cattle and the stillage to help irrigate the fields. Each bottle has less than one drink mile because the potatoes and grown, mashed and distilled on site. The distillery has the capacity to make 3,500 bottles a week.

Chase potato Vodka has a smooth and creamy taste. It is designed to be drunk neat, usually straight from the freezer, but it can be drunk at room temperature to enable you to taste all of the subtle aromas. Their award winning Chase Elderflower liqueur is made with Chase Vodka giving it a genuine luxurious quality and velvety finish.

Chase Distillery is very much a family run business consisting of a handful of staff, two of which are William's sons; James and Harry.

For more information about Chase Vodka, the Distillery and William Chase

Please visit www.chasedistillery.co.uk | Become a fan on Facebook: search for 'Chase Vodka' to find their page: www.facebook.com | And follow Chase Vodka on Twitter: www.twitter.com/chasevodka

About William Chase
William Chase, with his origins as a potato farmer, set up a successful premium potato supply business to retail multiples. In 2001 he established a premium potato chip business called Tyrrells Potato Chips, and quickly capitalised on its artisan nature to become one of the largest suppliers of premium potato chips in the UK. He sold the majority of the shares in Tyrrells Potato Chips in 2008, a deal which very much captured the imagination of the UK national press. He has since focused on Chase Distillery, which has firm aspirations to become one of the leading global niche premium spirit brands.

About Pelican Brands
Pelican Brands was formed to nurture and build brands in the global beverage alcohol space. Pelican Brands' team and partners have extensive experience in the global beverage and consumer packaged goods industries. www.pelican-brands.com Pelican Brands is headquartered in Carmel, IN and offices in the United Kingdom with a sales team covering the U.S. market.

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